Sunday, July 5th
It was a hot day, and I was worn out from the weekend's festivities. So, I sat around and watched the Tour.
Tour Talk
If Columbia gets the lead-out right, there's no one who can beat Mark Cavendish. They got it right today, and Cav sailed to an easy victory.
Garmin-Slipstream did everything right, too. Julian Dean parked Tyler Farrar right on Cav's wheel, but Farrar couldn't even hold position over the last 50 meters, much less get ahead. Farrar looked good, though. Maybe he can pick up a stage win if Cavendish has a bad day.
Koldo Fernandez crashed within the final kilometer and ruined the sprint of a few riders, most notably Tom Boonen, so not all the fast men were contesting at the end.
Besides the argy-bargy of the sprint, it was a fairly quiet day in the peloton. I never even saw a glimpse of Alberto Contador's Polka Dot Jersey, so he clearly stayed out of trouble.
I saw David Moncoutie make possibly the longest bottle hold ever. When the team car passed over the bottle, he must have hung on for 15 seconds. It was egregious. There used to be a website that listed the fines and penalties for each stage, and I wish it was still around so I could see if he incurred anything for that one. I'm sure the race judges watch the live feed, so if I saw it, they saw it.
Tomorrow - Stage 3: Marseille to La Grande Motte - 196.5km
The stage has a few lumps at the beginning, but is otherwise flat. It suits Cavendish even better than today's stage. The only way he won't win is if there are strong crosswinds that split the peloton and he doesn't make the front group. At that point, it's anyone's guess who'll win.
Tour Talk
If Columbia gets the lead-out right, there's no one who can beat Mark Cavendish. They got it right today, and Cav sailed to an easy victory.
Garmin-Slipstream did everything right, too. Julian Dean parked Tyler Farrar right on Cav's wheel, but Farrar couldn't even hold position over the last 50 meters, much less get ahead. Farrar looked good, though. Maybe he can pick up a stage win if Cavendish has a bad day.
Koldo Fernandez crashed within the final kilometer and ruined the sprint of a few riders, most notably Tom Boonen, so not all the fast men were contesting at the end.
Besides the argy-bargy of the sprint, it was a fairly quiet day in the peloton. I never even saw a glimpse of Alberto Contador's Polka Dot Jersey, so he clearly stayed out of trouble.
I saw David Moncoutie make possibly the longest bottle hold ever. When the team car passed over the bottle, he must have hung on for 15 seconds. It was egregious. There used to be a website that listed the fines and penalties for each stage, and I wish it was still around so I could see if he incurred anything for that one. I'm sure the race judges watch the live feed, so if I saw it, they saw it.
Tomorrow - Stage 3: Marseille to La Grande Motte - 196.5km
The stage has a few lumps at the beginning, but is otherwise flat. It suits Cavendish even better than today's stage. The only way he won't win is if there are strong crosswinds that split the peloton and he doesn't make the front group. At that point, it's anyone's guess who'll win.